About

PC, MAC, Linux

Last Update August 4

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Extinction Limit is an Open-World game with a deep story, and sandbox style game-play. It will break away from the formulas set by other titles in this genre though, with more focus on skill based combat, strategy, and thoughtful approaches to problem solving. Some unique properties will include being able to wire your own equipment, and write your own scripts in game.

The game
will also feature a unique blend of art styles, and game genres. Players
will explore a rich world while also maintaining and enhancing a base
and managing resources. They can form meaningful relationships with other characters, and affect the course of the story. Large scale defensive events add a strategy element, while players will also need to conquer challenges on
their own to achieve greater objectives.

The year is 2042 and Genetic engineering has become a way of life, however the sudden emergence of hyper-evolved organisms destroys much of the population and many major cities. The surviving pockets of humanity now mostly dwell in remote locations, living in fear and waiting for the impending chaos to close in around them. There are few cities left, but those that remain are protected by the pinnacle of defensive technology. "How long can they last?" and "can humanity regain a foothold, or is it doomed to extinction?"

The origin of rapidly advancing mutations remains a mystery, and it will be up to players to unravel the events behind this crisis while simultaneously taking on tasks that are more immediately crucial to their survival. The game will offer players very little of the hand-holding prevalent in mainstream titles, and instead allow players to take multiple paths requiring more, or less, consideration respectively.

Players will take the role of Lillith, a geological surveyor working for
a defense contractor. She is positioned in a small desert town on the
outskirts of the city when the destruction hits. As hordes of monstrous
enemies approach Lillith becomes a reluctant hero, tasked with defending herself and those
around her, as you work to find passage to safety in one of
the last surviving cities. You will need to explore and scavenge parts
and supplies, as well as fight, defend, build, and manage resources and
relationships to stay alive.

Although the world and exploration components are influenced by some of my favorite games, such as GTA and Fallout 3, the combat system will be much different, favoring Skill Based Arcade Style Combat blended with FPS and Strategy elements.

Players will need to construct and set up defenses in a strategic manner in order to protect their current base, resources, and other survivors. Players who prefer a tactical style may spend more time scavenging, repairing equipment, and enhancing their base. They may also choose to collect data on their enemies in order to exploit weaknesses. Others may want to take a more straightforward approach and rely on little other than their own skills and brute force.

There is enough freedom that combat scenarios may play out in many different ways. This is based on the player's preferences, as well as the type or number of opponents they are facing, or just how closely they like seeing monster guts spill.

Enemies in Extinction Limit come in a variety of types, from hordes of drones, to extremely intelligent Human-Hybrid Boss mobs, and
even colossal sized beasts. Whether you take them on
yourself, avoid them, or fight with the full power of your base will be up to the
player.

fight monsters and construct your own base

Extinction Limit is about as Indie as it gets. So far I have been developing it alone. Because the development is a full time job typically taking me over 50 hours a week to keep up rapid progress, I can't continue without some form of income. I still want to maintain freedom of development so I can implement experimental new features. Kickstarter is a great option in this regard.

Also being able to gauge player interest is important to me. If the campaign is particularly successful I will hire on additional artists and developers to push the quality of the game to another level.

help get the game finished!

One thing I will try to do with this title is the replacement of some of the mindless skill grinding, and "fetching" tasks common to sandbox games, instead replacing them with common sense tasks. This means, if you need a part or item, check the likely places, and if you have a broken part, see if you can fix it. More akin to real world approaches.

Players will optionally be able to do simple electrical work to repair circuits, or modify them to suit their needs. A few basic concepts will be included, such as series and parallel circuits, testing circuits, and designing simple circuits. Alternatively those who aren't so keen on math may choose to explore and search until they get just what they need.

Similarly players will be able to write simple scripts from within the game, and attach them to things like turret behavior, or any mechanical items with controller software (gates or rotating solar panels for instance). Again it will be kept to very simple, high level scripting, and players may opt to not utilize this feature, however it is my feeling that just the option alone makes for a much more engaging world.

dialogue system illustration

Another common sense change will be to dialogue systems. Any character in earshot of a conversation will be aware of what you say. More than that, they can actually join into the dialogue if they have something relevant to say about it. It bothers me when I play a game where I can talk to someone two feet away, and have to re-explain something I just said to the guy next to them.

The current dialogue system design is similar to that in visual novels/Japanese dating sims. This is a relatively easy way to allow character development and plot depth. Also the addition of 2D portraits allows for much more expressive illustration than is generally found in 3D models. Even AAA titles are plagued with 3D characters making horribly awkward facial expressions.

The game will also feature many traditional mechanics which have proven themselves over the years. Basically I will take each aspect of development as far as time and funding realistically allow.

see full reward pack descriptons below!

The price for backers to get the full game has been kept low enough that it is accessible on most budgets (half of the expected cost of the retail release). This is important to me, but in the name of fund raising, there are numerous rewards available to those that can offer more support!

$15 Hacker Pack:

Full Game + Exclusive Outfit, additional Hairstyle, A unique Toolset, a Hacking Perk and more, with this hacking themed bonus pack! ALL PACKS ARE KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE!

$15 Bombshell Pack:

Full Game + Exclusive Pinup Style outfit,
with Additional Gear to hold more bombs and artillery, as well Customizable Bombs and a player Perk! ALL PACKS ARE KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE!

$15 Botanists Pack:

Full Game + Exclusive outfit, with an additional Health Mixing Kit, Player Perk, and exclusive plant species. ALL PACKS ARE KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE!

$20 3 Pack:

Full Game + All 3 Bonus Packs at a discounted rate! ALL PACKS ARE KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE!

$50 Collectible Pack

Full Game + All Bonus Packs + Early Access, and an additional full color artbook, featuring concept art, promo art, and exclusive images and details about development! ALL PACKS ARE KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE!

$100-$125 BUILD-A-BOT

Full Game + ALL DIGITAL BONUS PACKS + EARLY ACCESS + DESIGN AND NAME your OWN custom Robot! ($125 to include art book)

note: bots can have limited number of joints, depending on complexity, and can float, drive, or crawl.

My overhead on this project is minimal, because most of the assets have been created from scratch. The $10,000 goal is a reflection of that. So far I have been developing the game on a budget of less than $500 a month. Basically, I can stay alive on that, and since I love working on the game, I don't care about how much money I am making or how many hours I have to work.

That said, I am hoping to exceed minimal funding and hire on additional people whose talents would really enhance this project further. I would really love to bring the best game possible to backers.

$10,000 Game gets made

$15,000 Additional 2D Artist/ More Visual Novel and Comic elements

(this goal is very important to me, because I really want the art in the game to be special, and not rushed) The $15,000 goal will allow Mako to spend more of her time on the game.

$20,000 Additional 3D Artist / Improved Content

$30,000 Main Character Voice-overs, and soundtrack

$50,000 2-4 Player Co-op

$50,000+ everything beyond this point will be used to expand and improve the game based on supporter feedback.

Alex Midgett Lead Developer/Artist

Up till now I have been the sole Developer and Artist for this project, which is based on characters, concepts, and plot lines that I developed in my spare time over the last couple years. Typically I start everything with sketches, and when I have something that looks cool, I begin to fill in the more important plot details. In the last few months I went ahead and began producing assets and coding the actual game .

I graduated from the University of North Carolina, and received a B.S. w/honors in Computer Science. My focus has been graphics programming and thus far I have developed numerous applications, game engines, and implemented larger web based systems. I have both formal and informal experience in 2D/3D illustration and graphic design both as a hobby and for jobs at various points over the last decade.

Mako Fufu Artist

Recently I've been joined by Mako Fufu, a well known and highly talented artist, who will bring her own unique and colorful style to the project. Our collaborative effort can be seen in the promo artwork for the rewards packs, and both her style and professional touch will be a huge asset to future development. She has worked professionally in games, as a concept artist and designer. Her work really speaks for itself though and more can be viewed at her website here

*The audio track used in the Title Video was composed By Alex Beroza feat. Snowflake

Kicking it Forward

Kicking it forward is a program where a project creator (me in this case) pledges that after release of the game, they will put 5% of the profits (not the development cost ie. backer money) back into other Kickstarter campaigns. An awesome idea overall, which I will happily pledge to.

Risks and challenges

Because I can complete the game development w/o additional developers and with low overhead there is little chance of going over budget. If the project exceeds minimal funding then some of the work will be distributed to additional artists/developers to further mitigate risk of any delays on my behalf. Stress tests on the engine have also been performed in advance to determine the feasibility of the project, with very positive results. Of course, only when the project is near completion can I be certain all features are well supported. My main concern personally is whether I will need to scale any scope of the project back to stay on schedule.